a guy, a girl, & a white fluffy dog

It’s Moving Time!!!

2009-12-07T21:54:00.001-05:00

That’s right, now that we are married we decided it was time for a change! So we moving, well not that kind of move yet, just a new home for the blog!

Abandonment Much?

2009-08-23T21:52:00.001-04:00

I know it looks like I have abandoned blogging all together, but truth is I am doing it now more than ever! I’m just not doing it here. Instead I have been blogging my little butt off over on Weddingbee.com! I’m Miss Cloud!

I realize that unless you are fully engrossed in planning a wedding the way I am, you might not have ever heard of Weddingbee before. Well, it is a community of brides who blog about the trials and tribulations of the planning process. I had been religiously following the bee since we were engaged last year, and after a LOT of encouragement from Brian, I decided to start my own blog and apply to become a Bee myself. And after a few weeks, I heard back and was accepted! It’s been a truly awesome experience so far, I’ve had the chance to “meet” so many people and blabber on and on all about the wedding to other brides. Please feel free to go check it out, but I warn you I divulge a lot of details of our upcoming wedding, so if you will be attending and want to be surprised, stay away!

Brian has also been really busy these past few months. He was promoted at the T-Mobile call center to a Senior Rep position putting him into the role of management and all of the responsibilities that come with (ie. very long hours!) but I couldn’t be more proud of him! In the past few months since his promotion, while working with a new team they moved from the very last spot in the center’s ranking to tenth overall!

Other then work and blogs, it has been wedding central in our apartment. An engagement ring should really come with a disclaimer: “wedding supplies will soon take over every spare inch of your living quarters”. We are learning to live with it though, and Bella loves all the new stuff to sniff! 76 days to go!!

Even Bella thinks this wedding stuff is exhausting!

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T23:28:00.003-04:00

It's Brian again, here to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day! Katie and I had a great day. We made it to the early morning sale at Michael's craft store (which was super exciting for me....), had breakfast at Bob Evan's, stopped at Joann Fabrics (another great stop for me), purchased some steaks and came home to grill them up and watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was a great day and I wish we could have more days like that. We hope everyone had a great cookout, or at least a great day off!

New York, New York

2009-05-25T23:03:00.003-04:00

Hey all, Brian here.... We recently took a road trip to New York to watch my mom graduate from SUNY Fredonia! The drive was pretty quick and we made it to town a day early to see friends and relax a little bit. On friday night we went to my buddy Jason's house for a "fire." This was quite an experience for Katie.... The best part was when Jason started to pour a random liquid onto the wood and Nick says "...What's that?" and Jason replies with "a mixture of gasoline and used motor oil." The look on Katie's face was priceless, especially when Jason said "You may want to back up, this might make a pretty big boom." Haha

On Saturday we watched my mom graduate! I got to see my Aunt Mary for the first time since my sister's wedding which was very nice. The graduation ceremony was wonderful and we all went to lunch at a local hotel with my mom afterwards. We were all very proud of her!

That night we went to Shawbucks which is a local bar in Jamestown. Thankfully there was a very good band playing by the name of Porcelain Bus Drivers. We met up with a few friends, Amber, Barry, Nick and Mike Sorce. It was a great time. We all drank a few too many and had a good time with the camera.... We gave the camera to Mike Sorce for a while and he took a bunch of hilarious pictures......but lets all take a look at something... Katie is always smiling in every picture! It is always nice to go home to NY.... that place never changes!

Road Trip!

2009-05-15T09:33:00.000-04:00

We are off to New York for the weekend to see Brian's mom graduate! We couldn't be more excited for her :)

Granted in this picture Bella doesn't look too stoked, but its just because she's like me and likes to sleep through the actual driving part! And yes, she has her own car seat, is anyone really surprised? :)

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

busy busy busy!

2009-05-06T00:29:00.003-04:00

Who has time to blog when you decide to take on millions of wedding projects yourself?? At least I'm making progress..

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

It's BRIAN!

2009-04-25T20:43:00.017-04:00

Stop the presses!
I'm finally posting another blog post. It's only been 10 months since my last post and since katie has been "busy" I am here to pick up the slack. (love ya babe!)

We've had a big few weeks! Last weekend I finally bought a Craftsman buffer and spent all day buffing my car. Although a new paint job would be ideal, this buff job will have to do for now.

I also helped katie construct some of her custom thank-you cards. She says I'm co-owner of babybubba ink.... but all I do is mess everything up. Everytime I tried to use the can of spray-glue it would blow all of the cards off the newspaper!

On Saturday April 18th, we joined katie's maid of honor Dawn in the MS Walk! It was alot of fun. Dawn brought her dog "Diva" and we brought Bella. On top of that, Dawn's father brought his little weiner dog named "Tater". Dawn even made them matching t-shirts! We walked for three miles and I think the dogs handled it better than we did! (well, at least me)

Crossing the finish line!!!

Shortly after crossing the finish line, hahahaha

aaaaaand shortly after that, loving the A/C!

There was also a dog show that katie decided to enter Bella and I into. I had to show off one of her best tricks. I tried to get her to do the "sit, lay, head down" trick... She did it, but it wasn't very clean. But we plan to practice for next year!

Well it has been fun, maybe I'll post again in 10 months.... :)

Things that suck my free time..

2009-04-20T23:03:00.004-04:00

1. Google Reader
Yeah, I admit I am obsessed with blogs. Current blog count on my reader: 93. Current unread posts: 167. Ridiculous, I know. I read everything from friend's blogs, photography blogs, TONS of wedding blogs, a few crafters, and of course some food/recipe/design blogs. Brian laughs at me. I don't care.

2. WeddingBee.com
The one blog I refuse to follow on my reader because I love the whole experience of being on the site. Blog, boards, all of it. I am doing a TON of DIY for the wedding, and you can guarantee a lot of the ideas come from the bees. Again, Brian laughs at me, and prays that I don't overwhelm myself from ideas.

3. Facebook
Sucking my time since 2004. Facebook updates on my blackberry too, it's allll over.

4. General Hospital
I tivo every day, and watch every night. Mobsters, affairs, and psycho grandmothers, what's not to love!?

5. Twitter
The newest obsession, I may not know how to use it yet, but dammit I will figure it out! Find me @katehiggy.

6. This blog, on occasion of course.
But since I just spend 10 minutes typing this list, it counts for today!

Not that I needed to list reasons why I am a big dork, but just in case you needed hard evidence. :)

Take me to paradise!

2009-04-11T15:50:00.001-04:00

It’s official, our honeymoon is BOOKED! We are going to Excellence Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and could not be more excited! This place is heaven on earth if you ask me!

So pretty, can we just go now?!
We decided pretty early on in our planning process that we were going to have a hard time registering for wedding gifts, and while we have managed to set up traditional registires, we have also registered for our honeymoon through TheBigDay.com! Their whole concept is to allow guests to buy a couple memories not items, I love it! You can see our full registry here. Only problem is we are still over 200 days away from leaving!! I don’t want to wait that long!!

Our long lost friend.

2009-04-10T23:28:00.015-04:00

Many of you may not know that Bella was not the first dog in our lives here in Richmond. Before we found our little fluff, Brian lived with a bunch of boys in a big dirty house (if any of them every try and tell you it was clean, DON’T believe it!), so of course they needed a big manly dog. Then came Miller. When they got him at the SPCA they were told he was a lab/boxer mix, and would probably end up being about a hundred pounds, well not so much. We jokingly used to say Miller was half lab, half Clifford (you know, the big red dog). He was huge, like 130+ pounds huge! And when Bella came along, it was instant love. In all his huge glory he loved her and was very aware that she was a tiny 3 pounds when she first came home. They would run and run and run, and to keep it fun, she would hide underneath him so he couldn’t find her!

Tiny baby and her BFF!
Sadly though the boys started to move on, Brian and I moved in together, and the others eventually parted ways as well. They all decided it would be best to find Miller another home. It was a really hard decision, so much so that we considered taking the big guy with us to our tiny apartment, but decided ultimately it wouldn’t be fair to him to be so cooped up. Luckily Brian was able to find Miller a home with a woman named Annette and her 8 year old son Timmy. It was sad to say goodbye but we have always hoped Miller was living a happy new life with his new family!

Then a few days ago out of nowhere Annette emailed Brian, they were going to be in Richmond, and she wanted to know if we wanted to visit with Miller! Needless to say we were super excited and planned on bringing Bella too! But it has been over a year and a half since we have seen him, Bella isn’t a puppy anymore, and we were worried he wouldn’t remember her, and more so that since her attack, she would be scared of him and his size. I will let the pictures speak for themselves, they didn’t exactly remember each other right away, but I think they may just have fallen in love again!

As you can see, Miller is doing wonderful! He has settled into family life very well, and it turns out he was having surgery for a torn ACL at almost the exact same time Bella was having her surgeries last summer! He is so well behaved, healthy, and happy. It was such a good visit and I think we know now that it was the absolute best decision we could have made to let him go. Hopefully we will have more visits soon, I know Bella certainly enjoyed herself, so much so that she had to spend the whole afternoon sleeping it off!

They didn't even want to say goodbye!

Change is coming!

2009-04-07T17:29:00.007-04:00

Source

I just saw this and it made me a happy happy girl! Being that we are now only SEVEN whopping months away from our wedding it is such good news to see that so many other people are also now able to start planning a wedding of their own, and for that marriage to be legally recognized! Following in the steps of Iowa, Vermont is also changing its rules and allowing gay couples to marry! That brings the total to four states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont!

Oh, and for the record my week off from planning went very well! Now I am back up and running feeling very refreshed and excited about everything all over again!! Updates on the wedding site soon with room block info and fingers crossed that the honeymoon will be booked this week as well!!

Cooling my jets..

2009-03-30T09:32:00.000-04:00

For anyone who has seen or spoken to me in the last few weeks I think it has been pretty obvious I have become completely overwhelmed with life. So much so I have become the girl who doesn't even have time to blog a quick little post here and there! Between working a new job, school full time, and the wedding, I am going to start pulling my hair out any moment now.

The biggest stress (and only one I really have any control over) is the wedding. Who knew throwing a big party for all our closest friends and family would be so incredibly stressful? Despite the fact that I do have a lot of help (including an amazing husband-to-be who is very supportive of all my crazy ideas), it is time I take a break from my self-induced madness. That means absolutely no wedding stuff for a week. No planning, no calls, no vendors, no emails, no wedding blog reading, I'm not even going to read Weddingbee at all! Can I do it? Probably not that hard core, but I sure am going to try.

Instead I'm going to spend my extra time catching up on school work, cleaning our disaster of an apartment (which the majority of that mess is also wedding related), getting back to the gym, and of course hanging out with Bella and Bri. Yeah, no wedding really does free up THAT MUCH time.

Next week I will finish up and get all the room block info posted on the site, but for now its just going to have to wait. Who knows with all this spare time you might even get more then one blog post out of me this week!

it's our engage-aversary!

2009-02-14T21:48:00.002-05:00

No, I did not bake this unfortunately, in fact I have not baked anything for Brian to celebrate one year of our engagement, or valentines day! Work, school, and wedding planning has swallowed me whole recently. But I promise, updates soon!!

In the meantime, happy love day everyone!!

I pledge..

2009-01-19T21:30:00.002-05:00

I think this is wonderful. Apparently it is causing a bit of controversy, for various reasons, but if it gets people to stand up and make a change, I am all for it.

I pledge to be more conscious about my environmental footprint. I have reusable grocery bags, it's time I start using them! No more water bottles either, refill and reuse instead. Recently, our apartment complex installed a "recycle area" next to the trash compactor, we have started to use it, but I am going to try to be better.
If we could all just take small steps, what a huge difference it would be! Here's to CHANGE!! :)

sunday random pic

2009-01-18T23:16:00.003-05:00

In honor of my Mum being here this weeking to help me make HUGE progress on the wedding planning I present one of my most favorite pictures ever... :)

Mum & Dad at their wedding 30 years ago.. aren't they cute?!?!

this one is for dad...

2009-01-16T23:23:00.004-05:00

“ The odds of divorce among women who married their only cohabiting partner were 28% lower than among women who never cohabited before marriage, according to sociologist Daniel Lichter of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.”
Read the full article here.

And he calls our apartment the "house of sin"! ;)

sunday random pic... is BACK!!

2009-01-11T21:43:00.004-05:00

Would you be able to blog if this kind of cuteness happened to you everytime you opened your laptop?? I didn't think so..

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-08T21:29:00.003-05:00

So here we are, a whopping 8 whole days into 2009 (and a mere 10 months until the wedding, for anyone who is counting), and I haven’t even wished everyone a happy new year! We’ve got big plans for such a big year, and I am very proud to say we are already on top of some of our big goals. So while I can’t speak for Bri, because he’s not one for resolutions, the list I have for myself is quite a big one. No worries though, he is getting dragged along in a few of mine as well. I certainly can’t have all the fun can I? So without further ado….

Get into shape (Well we are on our way, we joined a gym! Shocking, I know, but who wants to see a flabby bride walking down the isle?)
Get healthy (Ok, this is just mine and I have joined Weight Watchers! Sounds nuts because I don’t exactly have tons and tons of weight to loose, but for me it’s more about eating right and feeling better about myself. Don’t expect a weekly update on here with my progress or anything, but weight Watchers Wednesdays are becoming quite the big deal around here!)
Keep in touch (I like to think this means I will be remembering to send birthday and anniversary cards, but let’s be serious, I’m just trying to respond to emails and phone calls on the regular first. Oh, this will also include an increase in blogging. Man, I’m already slacking big time.)
Get organized (Not that our house is a complete disaster, but hiding behind some of our cute little bins and closed closet doors, there are some major disasters.)
Get motivated (I have big plans for my little project called ‘Baby Bubba Ink.’ If you got a Christmas card this year, you saw our first large production. A very lucky dad and brother I know also got some fantastic productions for x-mas as well. More on that later..)
And last but certainly not least..
Plan this crazy wedding and GET MARRIED!!

So what’s next? We are definitely starting to pick up the pace on the planning. You just wouldn’t believe how fast vendors book up around here! This includes a wedding show on Sunday (yay!), and meeting with a potential DJ on Monday. Then, next weekend my Mum will be in town for more meetings with potential vendors, and if all goes as planned, invitations will be ordered as well. And if that doesn’t make January jam-packed enough, the following weekend, Brian’s parents will be in town for a post-Christmas-Christmas! So our tree is still up and since I love all of our holiday decorations so much, I don’t mind one bit! Whew, it’s going to be a big month!

Since every post needs a picture, you will have to excuse me for the randomness of this one, but I just have to share. Before the holidays, on a randomly warm day Bri, Bella, and I all met up with our fabulous wedding photographer, Heather of Dolphin Dance Photography to finish up our engagement session. We originially were going to do pictures with Bella at the first shoot, but it was about a week after she was attacked, so she was still in the Doggy ICU, and in no shape to have her pictures taken. Trust me, she will let you know if she is in the modeling mood. So here is one of my favs, isn’t our gal precious?!

Please check out DolphinDancePhotography.com to see more of Heather’s amazing work!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-25T23:50:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very, very merry Christmas! We had such a wonderful day, and are so blessed to have such amazing families! My parents have been here all week, so that is what we will blame for my lack of posting, despite my new laptop finally arriving!! Unfortunately though, Brian's parents were not with us today, but through the magic of web cams, it felt like we were all together! I will get pictures uploaded and post again soon , but for now, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!! :)

No, we did not fall off the face of the earth..

2008-12-10T18:21:00.001-05:00

I know, I know, you are thinking that I just might be the slacker of the century, but I promise, this hiatus has not been by choice. Unfortunately a few weeks ago my beloved HP laptop kicked the bucket (did this have anything to do with the bunk charger I have been using for the past year, well, yes maybe). I swear I go through computers faster than anyone I know. And while I could have marched right into our office and used Brian’s desktop OR laptop, we all know he is a bit of a computer snob, and the last time I used his desktop I unplugged something that caused lots and lots of damage to an external hard drive. Since I will probably never hear the end of that particular incident, I am now just plain scared to touch the thing. Trust me, the computers, turntables, and other DJ equipment are like his babies. If the apartment was burning down he would be hauling them down the stairs leaving Bella and I to fend for ourselves (just kidding Bri! But I know you would try to go back in to save your beloved toys!)

So I have been waiting very patiently for TEN whole days now for this beauty to ship:

That’s right, a brand spankin’ new, RED, Dell laptop. And Mum is getting a matching one (thank you Daddy-O for early x-mas presents!) But here I am, on my estimated shipping date, and my order status still says “In Production”. Turns out some upgraded part that I never understood, that Bri and Dad insisted I needed, is on backorder. This makes me a very sad girl, a sad girl sneaking to blog while at work. I will just have to continue to wait, but I promise as soon as that bad boy is delivered it will be back to our regularly scheduled blogging program.

It’s a MIRACLE!

2008-11-20T23:00:00.001-05:00

Brian and I have been together for 4+ years now, and the first meal that I ever made for him was what we refer to as “Sydney Spaghetti”. The first time I made it for him was the first night I had ever met him, and we call it that because I was nervous and Sydney came over and really did most of the cooking. Now, I make it at least once a week.

But tonight, there was a miracle. I have taught Brian how to make this spectacular meal about a dozen times, but tonight HE MADE IT ALL BY HIMSELF. This may sound a little silly to some, but let me tell you, for the boy whose most extensive cooking includes tinfoil on a baking sheet with fish sticks or chicken tenders being put into the oven, this is a BIG deal. I couldn’t be more proud.

So I present Bri’s masterpiece, regardless of the fact that he probably only made it because in our house the rule is that one person cooks and the other cleans, and I really just think he is tired of cleaning, it was freakin’ delicious!

Yummmmmy!

saving the date??

2008-11-19T17:19:00.007-05:00

Well, after quite a bit of blood, sweat, and tears (ok, maybe no blood, but there were definitely tears. What can I say I'm a dramatic gal sometimes!) our save the dates have been mailed! So I can only assume we might be having a few new visitors to our blog coming via our wedding website (briankatie.net)! So to our new guests, welcome!

I also wanted to point out that we are still fairly early in our crazy planning process. So even though some days I feel like I am making no progress at all, I really am doing wedding related things every single night (and poor Brian is still at least pretending to be interested in all the things I show him!) And while our wedding website is going to be a very useful tool, especially for guests that will be travelling, we are still limited as to what information we currently have. As we get closer to our big day, and especially once we get through the holidays, more information will be added! So please keep checking back, and hang with us as we try to sort through booking blocks in hotels, getting maps together, and arranging time lines. While I love this stuff, let's pray Brian doesn't loose his mind in the process! :)

Bella is obviously very excited about the wedding
planning, or maybe she just needs a nap..

sunday random pic

2008-11-16T22:03:00.004-05:00

Who are these random people you ask? Well, if you know us at all, then you already know, but I would like to introduce everyone officially to our Maid of Honor, Rachel, and our Best Man, Luke! Alright, truth be told I'm getting bored with the random pictures of us, so why not introduce some of our best friends? :)

Ironically, this picture was taken before Bri and I even knew eachother. Rachel and I were roommates freshman year, and sorority sisters of course, and I knew Luke becasue he was in a fraternity we hung out with a lot. So this was the homecoming tailgate that Luke and I were put in charge of about a week before and managed to pull of. Good times and fun memories!

Have a fabulous week everyone! Maybe I will have enough time to sit down and write a real live blog entry!

sunday random pic

2008-11-09T23:48:00.002-05:00

Well for a change, Brian picked the random pic this week! I was trying to figure out what I wanted to post today when he volunteered to choose under one condition.. I couldn't veto the picture, so here it is! A very embarrassing, unflattering picture of the both of us that makes us laugh every time we see it. This was taken at a Red Sox game, but to be honest I couldn't even begin to tell you which one. The reason is because every game we go to, we end up with pictures just like this one. Actually it doesn't matter what we do, we end up with pictures like this. We are just very strange people. There is no denying it anymore. :)

Have a fun week everyone!

O. M. G.!!!!!

2008-11-07T23:34:00.001-05:00

Until our wedding!!!

I can't believe it. Everyone told me when we got engaged that it would be here in no time and I didn't believe them until now. Man, how time has flown! And I couldn't be more excited about it! :D

i heart election day!

2008-11-04T22:18:00.004-05:00

I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am about this election. I was raised in a very political family, and while I choose not to discuss my beliefs and voting choices with very many people now, I admit the election coverage sucks me in every time.

Brian and I both proudly voted today. We were super lucky and got in and out in about 15 minutes. I’ve heard people in Richmond we waiting for 3+ hours! This is such an exciting time in history, and I am so proud to say I was part of it! If you are looking for us tonight, you can find us parked out in front of the TV, we got some yummy local pizza for dinner and are having our very own little election party. Bella doesn't seem to be as excited about the whole thing as we are, but I can assure you we will be up all night or at least until all the states have been called!

Us after voting this morning, Brian obviously still a bit sleepy,
and me very excited about my sticker!

my super talented bro..

2008-11-03T19:43:00.011-05:00

As long as I can remember my brother has been an artist. We used to set up lemonade stands with a side of hand drawn portraits for a mere buck, I stirred and poured, while he drew his little heart out. And these were no silly stick figures, they were full blown works of art. The only thing I had on my side was that I brought in more customers, the lemonade was cheaper after all. He started taking private lessons when we were very young, and when I was old enough I did as well. Unfortunately my stick figures just were no comparison, and I was doomed to disappoint every art teacher who hoped I shared his talents.

Regardless, recently there was a picture posted here, and multiple other places on the web, that got a lot of attention from friends and family. The picture was of a painting my brother did of little old Bella! This is actually the third in a series that he has done for Brian and I. The paintings are amazing, he calls them the "Eye Paintings" and has recently started to do them on commission. I am posting all of the ones I have pictures of here (please excuse the terrible picture quality of some of the paintings, most were taken on camera phones, as well as the example picture he did it from. If anyone is interested, please let me know, leave a comment or shoot me an email here and I will pass your information on to him!

Baby Bella again, he made her hair look longer, more like her,
since this picture was shortly after she had to be shaved down.

Me, this was done almost 5 years ago.

Brian, although I am pretty sure this is not the
picture it was done from, you get the idea.

Mummy, this was done off of her college graduation picture.

Sydney, the most recent. This was given to her as a
gift for graduating nursing school! Congrats Syd!!

And as the bragging gal that I am, I am going to post some of his other art as well. I have some other things hanging in my apartment as well, but these are a few of my favs.

And one last thing.. Don't forget to VOTE tomorrow! No matter who you are supporting, make sure your voice is heard!!

sunday random pic

2008-11-02T21:32:00.003-05:00

This is the very first picture of Bri and I! I can't believe this was taken over FOUR years ago, how times flies!! Ahem, please ignore that vodka bottle in the background, this was during my "fratting" days and we were on our way to a highlighter party. Classy first dates we had, let me tell ya!
Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

happy halloween!!

2008-10-31T16:32:00.009-04:00

Can you guess what Bella is dressed up as this year?

She's ME!!! Didn't the pink hoodie and diamond on her left hand give it away?! Ok, maybe this isn't my most original idea ever, but I have been sick for a week now, so all of my motivation has gone completely out the window. But she looks cute just the same! And since I have been so sick our Halloween plans are now pretty much limited to the couch in our living room.

In better news though, I just wanted to give a HUGE

CONGRATULATIONS
TO JESSICA & CHRIS!
One of my oldest friends and her husband found out today that they are having a baby GIRL!! Yaaayy!! I have know Jessica since middle school, and was there when she and Chris got together in English class back in high school. I have had the pleasure of watching them grow as a couple, get married, and finally get ready to welcome their first child! I know they will both be great parents, and Jessica will be a wonderful, beautiful mother! So congrats guys, we love you and can't wait to meet your little gal!!
Bella wanted to say Congrats too, even if she's got her mean mug on..

sunday random pic

2008-10-26T21:14:00.008-04:00

Ok, so it's not completely random at all.. but whatever it's my blog and I do what I want! On to more important things...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!

That's right, Bri officially is super duper old man today. It's the big TWO-SIX people. And even though Bella is looking miserable in this picture, she really is just as excited about the birthday celebration as we are. Her photo shoots are rough these days, she won't sit still to save her life, and by the time I got this picture even the treats we were bribing her with were starting to bore her. And right after this she tried to eat the signage, so sleepy face was the best of the bunch. I also will not be posting pictures of the fabulous cupcakes I made in honor of Brian's old age. Not only did he start eating them immediately after the icing went on, but the red icing needed more food coloring then I thought to be the right shade, so it ended up being a little runny, and not really photograph material. Hey, even Martha has her mess ups! At least that is what I tell myself..

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!! Love love love!!

Just call me Martha Stewart!

2008-10-23T23:48:00.005-04:00

Or maybe just a wanna-be. But this is what I did this week...

Bridesmaid Shanny wasn't feeling so good :( Pink cupcakes will cheer anyone up!

It was my coworker Tracy's Birthday. I was in the Halloween spirit!

Brian has also requested cupcakes for his birthday on Sunday. I have big plans for the boy who likes icing :D

Did I mention Brian and I will be celebrating our very first Thanksgiving together this year? We have spent it together before of course, but this one is OURS, all alone, our very own turkey and all. So this is my bible to help me pull it all off:

SURPRISE!!!

2008-10-22T16:05:00.008-04:00

We are engaged!! Well, you already knew that of course, it's really old news these days, but we did get to officially celebate with a surprise engagement party recently thrown by my parents! Granted this all went down two weekends ago now, but I have finally suckered everyone into sending me the pictures (surprise means I didn’t know I needed to have my camera with me). And despite the fact that most of the pictures are not so hot I will still share them with you all anyway.

I must say though, we were really VERY surprised. There are no pictures of our shocked faces though, because when we walked in, and I looked around the wall into the dining room of the restaurant, I saw my brother, realized what was going on and proceeded to hide. Behind the wall, and then again behind Brian. I don’t know why, I was just so shocked, and momentarily confused, I guess I didn’t know what else to do with myself. We were just supposed to have dinner with Dawn (my sorority big sis and bridesmaid) and her boyfriend Paul, and there were both Brian’s parents, and mine, and half of our wedding party! Shocked doesn’t cover it. We were AMAZED that they were able to pull such a thing off!

Not only was the party fantastic, but then we got to follow it up with a wonderful weekend with BOTH of our parents here. We took Brian’s parents to see the Jefferson and the cathedral, both of which they had never been to, and since my dress came in a few weeks ago, both mothers got to come with me when I tried it on for the first time! My dad was gone for almost all of Saturday to Northern Virginia to play in his yearly Texas Hold ‘Em tournament, and for those who have not had the pleasure of hearing him brag, he was the reigning champion from last year. He walked away with a flat screen HD television this year, and we all anxiously waited to hear what he might end up with this time! He made it pretty far, but only ended up with 6th place, and not nearly as great of a prize, but he still beat his entire regular poker group, so it’s still bragging rights just the same!
Enough of my blabbering and on to the pictures!

Our present from my talented bro.. it's Bella!!

My beautiful girls, missing a few who were very missed!

Goobers. Luke and brother.

Me & Mummy :)

My fam!

My NEW fam!

Once again we were reminded how lucky, and blessed we are to have such wonderful family and friends. Thank you all for such a wonderful party and a fantastic weekend!

Wonderful News!

2008-10-09T16:06:00.007-04:00

Well it has been quite busy in our house the past few weeks (yes, I realize I am making it a habit of typing an excuse as to why I haven’t posted in so long when I start EVERY post..)

But there is good reason for this! Brian started his new job!! He is official a General Care Representative at the T-Mobile call center here in Richmond! I can’t tell you how lucky he is to have landed this position. We know from my experience already that T-Mobile is a fabulous company to work for, great benefits, great pay, and vacation time (YAY!), so when the SunCom call center was bought out by T-Mobile it only made sense for him to apply, especially because the building is literally right next to our house! He has walked to and from work every day, and even come home to visit Bella for his lunch break (hello less gas money!) so it has really worked out well. He will be in training for the first 8 weeks, but so far so good!

Since we are both loyal employees maybe they will let us borrow this for the honeymoon???!!

I have also been fairly busy with work, and my wedding obsession is growing still! We actually celebrated our pre-wedding 13 month anniversary! It is hard to believe we only have 13 months to go, it seems like just the other day everyone was telling me I had plenty of time – we were still 22 months out when we got engaged! Well time sure has flown by! I have accomplished quite a bit, although some days I feel more like I am planning to plan instead of actually doing things. Some things I have done though:
- Booked the church (Richmond’s Sacred Heart Cathedral)
- Booked the reception site (The Jefferson Hotel!!)
- Picked out and purchased THE DRESS!!
- Picked out and purchased bridesmaid dresses
- Ordered Save-the-Dates (which are still being assembled and will be going out shortly)
- Picked out invitations and a calligrapher
- Planned about a million DIY projects!

The Jefferson Hotel, becasue, well its just beautiful!

Looking at it in a list like that I realize it does not look like much. But I swear it is! The details I am getting together keep my up at night and make me very excited and finally Brian also seems to be getting in on the excitement, instead of just seeming bored with looking at different flower options. I’m pretty sure the tastings will still be the best part of planning for him!

I also had a chance to visit with an old coworker of mine last week. It was just a quick lunch, but it was long overdue. I have known Kristy and her husband Rick for a few years now, went to their wedding, got to visit their first daughter Olivia in the hospital right after she was born, and now am happy to say they are expecting their second child! They are such a wonderful couple and really deserve all the happiness in the world! The reason I mention this is just because I HAD to post this picture… isn’t she the CUTEST!!

I hope everyone is well! Have a great weekend!!

A week of remembrance..

2008-09-16T00:31:00.002-04:00

Granted, I am late, but really is anyone surprised? This last week has been a tough one, a week that I generally dread every year, and get through slowly with lots of tears.

Just like most other Americans, Brian and I spent some time on September 11th remembering where we were and what we were doing when we heard about the attacks on our country seven years ago. He was getting ready to go to class at JCC, and I was walking into a computer lab in high school. It always surprises me to share these stories with people who were not in a closer area to the attack, the way my family and I were. Brian, and other friends who were not as close to DC as I was were all of course devastated, but looking back, I can really remember an all out fear. After the attack on the Pentagon, and watching reactions of students in my school whose parents worked there, followed by my frantic phone calls to find where my dad was, and the evacuation of all major buildings near me, I look back and remember being down right scared. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families whose hearts remain heavy this year as they remember their lost loved ones.

As for my own particularly heavy heart this week, that comes mainly from the anniversary of the loss of my sorority sister, and good friend Mary Elizabeth Brooks. This September 13th was the second anniversary of losing MEB to leukemia. I was honored to know such an amazing human being, and while I doubt that I will ever understand why such a strong, and beautiful human being was taken from us so soon, I try to continue to remember how blessed I was to have her in my life, if only for a short while.

So I apologize for my lack of posting, and I promise I will write again soon. Hopefully with a better outlook and maybe even a wedding update (because yes, I am becoming obsessed!!) With that being said, I would like to send our love to all of you (maybe only two or three of you! Ha!) who read this. We love you all and after such a week we are definitely counting our blessings and realizing our wonderful friends and families top that list!!

Not much new..

2008-09-09T21:25:00.001-04:00

Well it’s been busy here at our house recently. I am still running around like a chicken with my head cut off between school and work, and Brian is still waiting (very impatiently at this point) to start work. We still have our fingers crossed, and hopefully everything will be settled by the end of the week.

I have also seemed to throw myself into wedding planning full force. I’m not sure what kicked in, but it’s almost like I woke up one morning and decided I needed to get to it! So I have been scouring the internet and pouring over all the magazines again for ideas and inspiration, and as a designer at heart I have decided to do this all myself, and make our big day as unique and fabulous as possible. Brian has been hanging in there with me, listening to my ideas and thoughts and at least pretending to be interested!! Also, today I got the phone call that my wedding dress has come in!! Obviously they will be holding it until I need to get alterations and things done, but they did say I could go visit it if I would like! As always, if anyone in interested in more wedding details, our wedding website can be found here, and will be updated as more details become available. :]

Recipe: Monkey Munch!!

2008-08-29T19:07:00.004-04:00

Unfortunately I have spent the last few days at home sick with an upper respiratory infection, and to be quite honest, after three days I am definitely over it and ready to be back to work and normal life! This little sickness has worked out very well for Brian though, not only have I been home so he has gotten to enjoy my company (ha! We all know how pleasant I can be when I’m feeling sick) but I am also starting to go stir crazy and have been looking for ways to entertain myself. So what else would I do? Cook!! So after my trip to the Doctor today, I ran over to the grocery store and got all the ingredients for Monkey Much!

Any fan of TLC’s ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ has heard of this fabulous treat. It is a wonderful chocolatey take on Chex mix. It is incredibly addicting and delicious so I thought I would share the recipe.

Monkey Munch

Ingredients
9 cups Chex cereal (any variety)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
1. Put Chex in a large bowl and put aside.
2. Place chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter into a quart-sized microwavable bowl.
3. Stir the ingredients together.
4. Microwave the mixture uncovered for a minute on high. Stir the mix again and continue to zap in thirty second intervals until it mixes smoothly.
5. Add the vanilla and stir.
6. Put combination into a 2-gallon, Ziploc freezer bag.
7. Add powdered sugar, seal the bag and shake until distributed.
8. Spread Monkey Munch out on wax paper to cool and dry.
9. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for storage.

recipe courtesy of RecipeZaar.

I hope everyone enjoys this as much as we do! With Brian being such a picky eater, I tend to have to search for interesting things to cook for us, not just deserts but dinners as well. I am going to start putting up some of our better recipes to share with everyone. I figure if Brian likes it, someone else might as well!!

Enjoy!

vacation's over :[

2008-08-28T20:53:00.022-04:00

I know it has been WAY too long since we updated but at least I have nothing but good news for this post! First and foremost, Bella is doing fabulously! She got quite the haircut after the stitches came out, and despite the fact that we thought she was very naked looking at first, the short ‘do is growing on us every day.

In the past few weeks we have been a very busy little family! Brian’s hunt for a new job will hopefully be coming to an end soon (not to jinx anything of course, so I will post more details as we get them), and despite the interviews we even got a vacation in!

I spent the weekend of the 16th down in Cape Charles to see Erin and Rick get married. I drove down with Rachel and Meredith and stayed with them and Shannon in a gorgeous suit for the weekend and got to see one of the prettiest ceremonies I have ever witnessed. The newlyweds said their “I dos” at sunset on the beach and I seriously doubt their was a dry eye anywhere on the beach. We spent the night at their reception dancing away like we were freshman all over again! They couldn’t have had better weather or a more perfect day and the bride was stunning, in her Oakley shades of course!

The last SINGLE 3/4 picture!

Meredith, Rachel, and I..

Perfect!!

After a weekend with the girls Brian, Bella, and I all got in the car and drove to visit Mum and Dad in Massachusetts (finally!!) and what a trip it was! Even though we hit more traffic then we have ever seen before, both ways, it was definitely worth it. The first day we helped Mum unpack and organize the basement, and then headed to Weymouth to visit Nana and everyone there. Courtney (the best Junior Bridesmaid EVER) came back to Scituate to spend a few nights with us, and we got the chance to hang out on the beach, which was by far my favorite part of the trip!

Bella in her car seat on the way up!

Mum and Courtney (& her fabulous straight hair!!) at dinner.

The Beach!!

The water was cold for Bri!

Hands down Brian’s favorite part of the whole week was probably our drive up to New Hampshire. He has been talking about going to the arcade, Fun Spot, for practically ever now, so we took the drive up for the afternoon. Fun Spot is the largest arcade in the world and was featured in the movie "The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters", basically if you want to set a world record for video games, this is the place you HAVE to do it. Brian played every game he could get his hands on, but I stuck with Tetris, and walked out with not one, but THREE high scores. And yes, I am very proud of myself!!

Welcome to Fun Spot! Yes, it is THREE floors..

Tetris Champ!!

Bri and the famous Donkey Kong machine!!

We regretfully did have to end our vacation, but we did get to spend our last day at a cookout with almost my entire family! Good food, good drinks, and a GREAT family are definitely the BEST way to end a wonderful vacation.

Backyard view..

View from the deck.

One of my beautiful bridesmaids!!

Wonderful fam :)

Now though, it’s back to the real world. School is starting back for me, so my summer is definitely over. I will try to update more, and please keep your fingers crossed for Brian’s new job!!

We Are Radar Free!!

2008-07-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

That’s right! Our pup is no longer running around with a satellite dish around her head! We got the ok to take the crazy hood off at her vet visit yesterday. She also had all of her stitches taken out, and the Doctor was very impressed with how well she was recovering. Every time we are there they tell us how impressed they are that she has recovered so well, and so quickly! Now it’s just a matter of getting her to her grooming appointment tomorrow morning. She was originally scheduled for her regular appointment the weekend after her original accident over a month ago, so you can only imagine how long and matted her hair is now! She is a downright mess! I will post pictures tomorrow of her makeover, it should be amusing since I am sure she will have to be shaved pretty short!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!

2008-07-20T17:30:00.003-04:00

Don't let her fool you! Even though she looks slightly miserable, she is really just waiting for a treat! Normally she does very well with photo shoots, but it must be her satellite dish that makes her a little less interested in the camera these days.

But regardless, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MUMMY!! I am feeling a little sad today, I think this is the first time I was not about to spend the day with her or at least see her around the time of her big day. But Mum, you are in our thoughts today and Bella can't wait to come see Gemma at her new house next month!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

In other news, I am enjoying a weekend off! We went and saw the new Batman movie, Dark Night, yesterday. Brian has been itching to go, even refusing to watch the previews when they came on tv since he wanted to be completely suprised. I have to admit though, I think I enjoyed it just as much as he did! We highly reccomend everyone go see it!! I also got lucky enough to have tomorrow off so I will get to go with Brian and Bella to have her stitches taken out. Then I am planning on going out to visit my friend Kristy and her new daughter Olivia at their new home, followed by my normal Monday night class. So it will be a busy day but I have had some time to relax already before starting my week back to work on Tuesday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, I will update tomorrow after Bella's vet visit. We are hoping today will be the last day with Bella as a satellite dish!!

Pics from Brian!

2008-07-20T02:27:00.005-04:00

So, I know katie has been the only person blogging on "our blog", and she will be the first to tell you it is all my fault! So I decided to upload some pictures as my first "official post." Enjoy!

Katie and I at Barry & Amber's wedding in NY

From left to right:
Me, Nick, Katie, Jon

This was when Bella was not doing so good. Very sad

Bella hates her radar dish, but she makes the most of it!

Katie having no-hood cuddle time

Katie's birthday present from her parents. A great gift indeed! I love these chairs

I apologize for poor picture quality as most of these were taken with the blackberry.

A Quick Congrats!!

2008-07-17T12:01:00.004-04:00

It’s official! My parents are no longer homeless!! Yesterday was a huge day for them, all of their stuff finally came at the crack of dawn to their BEAUTIFUL new home! I am so happy for them and can’t wait to go visit!!
So CONGRATULATIONS Mum and Dad!! Hopefully we will be up in August to see the new house for ourselves!

Scituate, MA

Our gal is HOME!!

2008-07-07T01:24:00.001-04:00

She’s HOME!!! We are so excited that Bella is finally home with us and her tail is back to wagging!! She does have to wear a big cone around her head that makes her look slightly like a satellite dish, causing Brian, Nick, and Jon to call her “Radar”, but I would much rather her be here being called names then still be at the vet!! The incision from the final surgery runs from about the middle of her belly halfway up her side towards her spine. Its pretty gross looking but the stitches will come out either this Thursday or next depending on how well it is healing. But like I said she is in pretty good spirits. I think it has been a small blessing that Nick and Jon have been here, their constant showering of attention on her has really helped get her back to acting normal.

Please excuse the short post that is lacking on details. I just wanted to update on the little one before I fall into bed! These boys keep me up way too late!! Goodnight everyone, have a wonderful week!!

An Overdue Update

2008-07-03T01:31:00.001-04:00

I know it has been a while for an update but things have been crazy around here! When I last wrote we were expecting Bella to be home from the vet within a few days, but unfortunately that did not happen. Last Friday while I was at work, Brian received a pretty frantic call from the vet informing him that our gal needed to be picked up and taken to an emergency vet clinic. The place they wanted her to go specialize in surgery as well as being an emergency clinic, and they have a 24 hour intensive care unit with surgeons on the premises at all times. Bella was not improving the way anyone had hoped, so after they watched her overnight at the new clinic, they decided on surgery first thing Saturday morning. She had procedures on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday mornings. We got to visit with her every day for a bit, and even bring her home for a “sleep over” Monday and Tuesday nights. A nice treat for us, especially since Tuesday was my birthday and it just would not have been the same without her! She did go back in Wednesday, bright and early to have her final (FINGERS CROSSED!) surgery to have her wounds closed. They did not have to do full skin grafts like they originally thought, but they did have to take small pieces from her belly to close the larger areas. All went well and even though they expected her to be with them until Friday at the earliest, the surgeon said she was doing so well this afternoon they think we will be able to pick her up Thursday evening!

Through this whole ordeal we have really realized how truly blessed we are. Our family and friends have been so supportive. Brian’s friends (and future groomsmen), Nick and Jon are both staying with us for a few days, and even though they came in for a full on relaxed boys trip, they have both taken quite a bit of time to cuddle and love on our little girl while she was home. She continues to prove to us that she is a little fighter, and no matter what happens from here, she is doing everything she can to get back to normal. Even if that means lying on the couch when she really wants to play (and we all know what a feat that is for her)! I can’t thank everyone enough for the constant phone calls, text messages, and emails to check on her and see how we are doing!

On a lighter note, between trips back and forth to the new vet office, we did have the chance to celebrate my 24th birthday! Yes, I am 24 now, even if my dad didn’t believe it and had to do the math in his head to prove I was right! Nick and Jon are two of Brian’s good friends from New York, who both just got back from overseas on their second and third deployments with the Army, and Air Force. Since they both got in on my birthday we went out for a bit to celebrate their trip and my big day. Shannon even made a rare trip out to the west end and Luke joined us for a night at the bar that is a block away from our apartment. It worked out well, because Bella was home, so Brian was able to go check on her even though she was celebrating by passing out on the couch for the night. The whole couch to herself was definitely something to celebrate!

After a few days off work, I am back tomorrow, but get a short day for the fourth. I will update again when we get more news from the vet, hopefully the next post will be all about Baby Bella’s successful homecoming!!

a long day!

2008-06-26T23:29:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to throw out a quick blog before I head to bed after an exhausting day!

First, we went to visit Bella at the vet for a bit today, and boy what a difference a day makes! She seems to be in much better spirits, I even got my toes licked, so the old Bella might just be in there after all! Although her personality might be better, her wounds are turning out to be much worse. When they went in for the surgery originally, they planned on going in on the left side only, on the worst wound. She literally has holes where the other dog’s teeth went in, and one was visibly worse than the others. It was constantly seeping and bleeding (a blast to clean let me tell you), so they were going to go in and literally scrape out anything that could be now, or could become later, infected. Turns out the “pocket”, as they call it, was much larger than they thought it would be, so the incision is probably about 3½ inches long. And on the hip of a little gal like her, that’s pretty big! They then realized a mark the other side, which we originally thought wouldn’t be too big of a problem, had developed a pocket of its own. So they went in, and she has another incision about half the size on that side as well. Both have draining tubes, so the vet thought it would be best for her to stay overnight again tonight to keep her comfortable and let them watch for any new issues. Fingers crossed that this will be the last surprise and the road to recovery can finally begin! The next step is to get her well enough to come home finally, it's just too quiet around here without her!

After our visit we had to run home and get ready for our engagement photo shoot! Even though with everything going on we had thought about postponing, it was nice to have something fun to look forward to. I managed to drive Brian crazy nuts stressing over what we were wearing, but the big issue turned out to be the weather! We spent the last few weeks hoping for no rain, but it just never occurred to me that we should have been worried about temperatures of 100+ degrees! We made it through, even though I seriously felt like I was going to pass out for the heat for a moment, all we can do now is hope they come out looking good, and we don’t look like big grease balls!

Thank you again for everyone’s love and support! And a HUGE thank you to Rachel’s mom and dad, Mr. & Mrs. Erwin, for the care package for Bella! I’m sure she will be super excited to play with the new toys as soon as she gets home and feeling better!

some sad news..

2008-06-25T23:37:00.003-04:00

I apologize in advance for such a lengthy post..
Being that our blog is titled “A guy, a girl and a white fluffy dog” it is only appropriate that we shift our attention to our little fluffy gal, and use this as a place to keep people updated of the sad event that happened this past weekend. Although I have talked to most people who might read this already, I’ll go ahead and write the whole story out for those who are curious (feel free to skip the italics if you just want the latest updates).

This past weekend, Brian and I went to New York for a friend’s wedding. It was a quick trip, left on Friday morning; back Sunday night, so we decided to board Bella at Four Paws Pet Resort here in Richmond. This is the same place she goes for day care fairly regularly so she is used to it, and we had never had any problems before. In fact this weekend, one of my best friends, and maid of honor, Rachel, also boarded her dog, Buttons at the same place. Buttons stays with us at least once a month, so Bella and her are the best of pals; they were even set to share a room at Four Paws for a sleep over! All weekend we assumed the girls were having a great time and they would come back Sunday exhausted from all the fun. Neither us, nor Rachel would be back in time for the 5:30 pm pick up, so it was up to Uncle Luke to pick them up. Like I said, we had not heard from the resort all weekend, so when Luke called when he was picking them up, we were very surprised. There had been an “accident”.
The details are still a little sketchy, as we have gotten a few different versions from the staff there, that are now not lining up with paperwork we have since seen. Regardless, at some point on Saturday evening the dogs were let out for a “meet-and-greet”, basically their last play time before bed. The larger dogs are kept in one area, the little guys in another. Some how, one of the larger dogs, a Blue Tick Hound, either got through the gate, or away from a staff member, and headed straight for Bella and Buttons. Thankfully, Buttons got away unharmed physically, but she did witness Bella’s brutal attack. Judging by the wounds, Bella had her back turned to him, and he clamped down over her hind quarters, and picked her up. He then shook her, before a staff member could get to her and literally rip her from his mouth. We were also told by the Four Paws owner that he then bit down on to the employee, but now that is in question as they have not reported that to anyone else.
The staff took Bella to the Carytown Emergency Clinic when we believe she stayed overnight. We were originally told that she was there with one or more of the owners of Four Paws, but now have found out that she was in fact just dropped off. She was picked back up and brought back to the resort until Luke picked her up at 4:30 on Sunday night.

Brian and I are both obviously the most upset that Bella was hurt so badly and is in such pain now, but we are trying to remember that accidents happen. At the same time, it is all in how the situation is handled after the accident that really matters. With that said, we have a few issues with what happened this weekend.
First, we were NEVER contacted by Four Paws to let us know what was going on. Granted we were in New York where in the past coverage has been an issue on our cell phones, but between the time the attack occurred, and when we found out, we had both sent and received many phone calls, text messages, and voicemails on both phones. The staff at Four Paws claims they tried to call us multiple times, but still had no reason as to why they never left a message. They say they called all of our numbers, but not even our home number had a missed call on the caller ID. We feel like we trusted these people with a dog that we love like a child, and they did not take the time to inform us of what was going on. If it had been our child, I doubt they would have stopped calling until they reached someone.
Second, and probably the most important, was the dog that attacked Bella. As I said he was a blue tick hound. We are told he was over 60 pounds and pretty solid. The kicker is, he was a foster. We had no idea that Four Paws even took in fosters. All we knew was what they had told us in our original touring of the facilities: they had strict breed restrictions to keep the small guys safe. Come to find out, they will take fosters of any breed (including fosters that might have a pit mix!). After speaking with the Henrico Humane Society, we have found that he was taken directly from a pound to Four Paws with no temperament testing from them, that was left up to the staff at Four Paws. They did tell me though that he has been found to have aggression issues with cats (cats, small dogs, you would think they might have made a connection, but apparently not).
I think I can speak for Brian as well when I say we go from being terrified and sad for Bella and her current condition, to being absolutely outraged that this incident has happened at all. Four Paws has agreed to pay all vet bills that may result, but we will see how that goes.
In the mean time, our gal spent the night at our regular vet, Wellesley Animal Hospital, on Monday night. We had her back at home Tuesday night, where she rested comfortably for a while, but had to bring her back this afternoon for another stay. She stopped eating or drinking for us, and wouldn’t let us clean her wound which she would not stop trying to rub. At about 4:30 today she went in for surgery. They decided the best thing to do was to open up the largest “hole”, or tooth mark to be honest, and cut all the damaged tissue out. They are hoping the damage won’t be great enough to have to cut any muscle, so fingers crossed on that.

While we wait to hear how she is doing, I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. I started by sending out a very quick email to a few people but the response from our friends and family has been overwhelming. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people around us who know how important Bella is to us, and how in our eyes she is much more than just a dog or pet.

I will continue to update on here with her latest news. So check back often! The picture below is of Bella from this morning, a much sadder looking lady then normal. :(

I'm already slackin..

2008-06-05T22:27:00.005-04:00

So in my own defense of the fact that I am being a slacker, I would like to remind everyone that I am in school every morning, and then I go straight to work for 9+ hours every day. So I am pretty sleepy when I get home and have not been motivated to get on here and type. But regardless, I am going to be better :D

Anyway, Brian and I are officially the luckiest engaged couple ever! My fabulous Auntie Peg and Uncle Steve gave us the engagement present of all engagement presents, tickets to the Red Sox game on Sunday! We could not have asked for a better game or better weather! We may not have seen Manny's 500th home run, but we did get to see 501! So for your viewing pleasure a few pics from the game...

Our thank you message to Auntie Peg and Uncle Steve :D

Yes, we are "those" fans. It is slightly rediculous.

Well, I am off to Boston for the weekend to see my cousin Matthew graduate! Love to all!!

our first!!

2008-05-31T22:45:00.003-04:00

So here it is, our very first blog!! Brian and I both had some down time today, me from the insanity of back to back school and work, and Bri from his endless quest for a new job in the crappy Richmond job market. It’s really one day at a time right now, and in the nice Saturday afternoon we had today we decided it might be a good idea to start a blog! I figure if anything we can look back later and see how things were, and for now keep everyone we don’t get to talk to as much as we would like, up to date on our lives. Soooo with that said, both Bri and I are both going to try to update regularly, and hopefully remember to bring the camera around to important events and eventually we might be pro bloggers like a few of my fabulous sorority sisters who have inspired me :)

Well it’s off to bed! My one day off all week comes tomorrow, and we are going to see the Red Sox play in Baltimore! I can’t even tell you how excited we both are! Uncle Luke will be coming to check in on Bella, so we can spend the whole day without worrying about her being lonely.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!!

love love love,
katie